How To: Add and subtract radicals

Radicals are square roots which are not integers; the square roots of 2 or 3 are examples of radicals. The presenters show simple ways of how to add and subtract such radicals. They explain that by using the method of factoring, the addition or subtraction is made very easy. If the square root of 8, for instance, is in some addition sum, it can be factored into the square root of 4 times the square root 2. Since we know that the square root of 4 is 2 this can be simplified to be 2 times the square root of 2. The presenters also explain how to simplify additions and subtractions of fraction radicals.